People seem split on the whole 'Lisa was deliberately trying to get pregnant' issue. I agree that it would be stupid to have unprotected sex with a hooker, but then it would also be stupid to cheat on Dean...so I have no idea if she's lying or not (I'll work it out at some point.)

Michael watches him from his seat on the other side of the couch.

"I still can't believe this." He says, finally.

Castiel has taken him through it, step by step. Leaving home, not being able to support himself, turning to escorting. The intervening years of lying and feeling quite bad about it. Meeting Dean, the book and his resignation.

Leaving out a detail which he should have known Michael would pounce upon.

"How did you meet Dean?" For every second of silence Michael's expression darkens. "Castiel..."

"He was a client." He admits. "But he's different he..."

"...paid you, for sex." Michael finishes. "Is that...healthy? to get involved with someone who would do that?"

"I love him." He says simply.

"Where did you meet him? On the street or..."

"His wife, also paid me...I was sleeping with her, and he came to confront me."

"Oh Castiel..." Michael looks appalled and upset.

"He was upset..."

"And your solution..." Michael gestures wordlessly. "Offering sex to someone isn't exactly..."

"Normal." Castiel clenches his fists. "I'm not normal, not really."

"You can't just relate to people by giving yourself to them." Michael says carefully. "I'm not...this isn't about me judging this, or you...but I'm worried about you, about what kind of man would engage a..."

"A prostitute." To his credit Michael doesn't wince at the word.

"That his wife was cheating on him with...it's unstable, it's not a rational thing to do."

"I don't think anyone would be rational in that situation...and I gladly gave him..." Castiel swallows. "I gave him the only thing he'd let me...I knew it wasn't a good idea...that it wasn't a 'healthy' thing to do, and I still did it."

"And now you love him." Michael sighs resignedly. "Does he love you?"

"I don't know." Castiel thinks of his phone, still silent. "I think he does."

"Is that enough?"

He's silent.

"Castiel?" His brother moves to sit beside him, holding him with one arm around his shoulders. "More than anything...I have never wanted to see you suffer, not like this. When I think of all you've had to do..." he closes his eyes. "I didn't protect you from that, from them...but I can in this, if this man isn't good enough for you, if he doesn't love you...I'll be there...you're not alone."

"He does." Castiel swallows, hoping that it's true. "But thank you, for this."

There's a sharp knock on the door.

"I that's the guy from before..." Michael growls, just as someone calls "Hey Castiel, you home?"

Castiel relaxes.

"I take it this is Dean?" Michael asks.

Castiel nods, not moving from his seat.

"Well...let him in then." Michael watches as Castiel goes to the front door and opens it. Dean looks like hell, tired and unshaven, but his face blazes with relief when he sees Castiel. Without thinking he enfolds him in a hug.

"Thank fuck." He mutters into the curve of his shoulder. "You have no idea, how worried I've been."

"What happened...Dean..?" Castiel wraps his own arms around the other man.

"Some guy called my apartment looking for you. I don't even know how he got my number, but he just left this message saying he'd try you at home, and I thought..." His arms squeeze tighter. "I mean, you told me about those scars, and I didn't know if it was the same guy so I..."

"So you came to check on me." Castiel runs a hand over Dean's hair, sticking up at odd angles as it is.

"and you're ok, which is..." He pulls away to look him in the eye. "Cas, I'm so sorry. I was pissed and...you're not the reason I've lost what I had...you're..." He struggles with it, relief and worry colliding and making it hard to find what he needs to say.

"I know." Castiel spares him the trouble. "I'm sorry for saying what I did."

Michael comes to stand just beyond them.

"Why don't you invite Dean in...I'll make us some coffee."

Dean frowns for a second, then his expression clears, replaced with guilt and anxiety.

"Right...your brother's here." He grimaces. "This really isn't the first impression I wanted to make."

"Unfortunately you've already made one." Michael isn't cruel, but he is as abrupt as Castiel himself can sometimes be, and Dean looks taken aback.

"He knows." Castiel lays a hand on Dean's arm. "Alistair was here when we got back, I didn't really have a choice."

Dean looks at Michael.

"I'm sorry."

Castiel tenses between the two of them, reaching to close the door behind Dean as he steps into the room.

"For soliciting my brother or that I had to hear about it?"

"Michael." Castiel warns, sometimes he can be too protective.

"No, it's..." Dean readies himself for conflict. "I have a brother, I'd probably lose my shit if I found out some guy had paid him for sex."

"Slightly different when it's hypothetical." Michael sighs. "He's happy with you, I hope you know that."

"I'm glad for that."

"If you hurt my brother, there really is nothing I can do about it." Michael folds his arms. "I can't hunt you down and make you pay for breaking my brother's heart, but it would be a terrible thing for him invest so much in you, especially given what he has been through, only for you to turn him away."

It's probably the most threatened Dean has ever felt by the 'family member warning' speech. That includes the introduction to Lisa's three brothers, owning thirty five guns and seventy nine acres in total.

"I'm not going to hurt him."

"You'd better not."

Castiel watches the two men stare each other down. They really are quite similar.

"So..." Michael says, relaxing his stern posture. "Tell me about your brother."

Castiel settles down beside Dean on the couch, listening to the exchange of family history and watching the tension slowly leave the two men sitting in front of him.

He wonders what'll happen when he has to introduce Sam and Lucifer.